All We Need
by loveandsqualor
Summary: Cuddy's brother and sister-in-law are severely injured in a car crash, and Cuddy has to look after her 2 year old nephew. Huddy. First fanfic IN ENGLISH ever. Rate and review. Rated T for safety.
1. Tired

Unfortunately, I do not own House or any of the characters, and I'm not making any money out of this

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**Chapter I**

You lay in your bed, resting your sore muscles after a week of particularly hard work, hidden beneath your woollen blankets and cotton sheets. All your attempts at gaining energy in order to be able to get up and get dressed for work are unproductive. You are now at least 15 minutes late, but, for once in your life, you don't give a damn.

The phone rings. You hear the annoying music that comes out of that evil little appliance and you can't bear it any longer. Who the hell is calling you early in the morning? An outcast, for sure. You pull the covers aside and begin a frantic search for the telephone.

The floor is cold under your feet and the sensation feels pleasurable to your tired limbs as you run towards the bookshelves, where you spotted the phone.

'Hello?' Your voice comes out considerable cranky, and you feel sorry for the person who is about to speak. After all, he or she might be a donor, or a doctor living abroad.

'Doctor Lisa Cuddy?' A serious masculine voice replies. Great, now you are scared. You mumble a coherent response. 'I'm Doctor Yeats, from Princeton General. I think we've met before' Sure, that nice man from the benefit…'your brother and sister-in-law had been severely injured in a car crash. I'm sorry for delivering the news so early in the morning and without previous warning, but you are the only family we were able to contact, and some has to take care of the child.'

Right. The child. Your 2-year-old nephew, Jamie.

'I'll be right there, Doctor Yeats. Right there.'

'Ok, room 109' You say your rushed goodbyes, and you run towards the bathroom. You get dressed and apply some make- up, and somehow you manage to get out of the house in less than 15 minutes.

You call Wilson from the car (and a policeman waves at you, and you know you shouldn't be using your cell phone) and explain him the whole situation. Basically, you call in sick for the first time in a very long time.

'And Wilson…'

'Yes?'

'Look after House, and make sure he doesn't set the hospital on fire.'

He chuckles.

'Don't worry about it, I got it all covered. Now hung up and go see your family. Stop worrying about the hospital.'

'I'll try' You let out a sigh 'I'll try'.

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This is my first fanfic ever, and I'm not an English native speaker. Constructive criticism is very, very appreciated. And please, review and tell me what you think. I know it's crap, but I was so bored I decided to do something more o less PRODUCTIVE.


	2. Intimidated

**Disclaimer:** I do not own House, but I do own the characters I created.

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**Chapter II**

After having a quick word with Doctor Yeats (a fine, caring and decent doctor, unlike a certain doctor you deal with every single day of your life), you enter room 109, were your older brother is lying on his back, in a comma, and his black and blue body and broken bones shock you beyond words. This is your older brother, whose strength you've always admired. When you were a child of six and he was thirteen, he seemed huge and invincible, and you were never able to get rid of that impression. Therefore, his vulnerability astonishes you, but in a negative way. _It can't be him_. But it is him.

There's no doubt he'll make it. You need to tell yourself that he will make it. That _they _will make it. You hold his unharmed hand and squeeze it softly.

You walk out of the room wiping the tears away from your face.

You spot your brother's best friend, Mike, sitting on a nearby chair, holding your sleeping nephew, and you walk towards him.

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'What happened to Cuddy?' House raises his eyebrow at you.

'What makes you think I know what happened to Cuddy?' Damn, he really is a crappy liar.

'Come on Jimmy. Even Cameron would have hidden it better!' He smirks, and you feel like strangling him with your own hands. Or with a wire, for a most dramatic effect.

'OK' He was going to find out anyway 'His brother was in a car crash and he was admitted at Princeton General. Happy now?'

'Oh yes, very' He begins to exit the office, but he suddenly turns back 'Her older brother?'

'I don't know, she said 'my brother Jack'' Now is your turn to raise an eyebrow 'Are you interested? Do you care?'

'Not really, but I remember him from a night out about 20 years ago. He pretended he was cool with Cuddy dating me, but sent me death glares throughout the whole evening. The 'you are fucking my little sister' sort of glares. It was pretty intimidating.'

'I _seriously_ doubt it' you chuckle. An unpleasant older brother wouldn't intimidate House at all. Not in a million years.

'It's so sad, even my best friend doesn't trust me. You know, you are hurting my non-existent feelings'

'Yeah, right' But your reply is lost to House. He's already out of the room, and a little voice, that some people call conscience, blames you for telling him, for he most surely will go mess with one distressed Lisa Cuddy.

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So, here it is. Chapter II. I hope you liked it, and I apologize for its... SHORTNESS? Please review.

And thanks for the reviews for the previous chapter.


	3. Reunited

Disclaimer: I do not own House (David Shore and FOX do own him lucky bastards), but I own the characters I created.

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**Chapter III****-Reunited**

"Lisa!" Mike places Jamie on a nearby chair and steps forward and wraps his strong arms around you in an affectionate hug. "It's been ages since I last saw you." You recall Jamie's first anniversary as the last time you've seen him. Then, he returned to London, were an international firm had given him and position as an attorney a few years ago. You were invited to a dinner party when he paid your brother a visit a few months ago, but you weren't able to attend. Probably a stupid meeting held you up in the hospital. "How _are _you?"

You smile through your tears. He has always been such a nice guy. It's almost shocking how some people never change and follow the same pattern of behaviour throughout their entire lives.

"Fine" Then you ask yourself if you are really fine, and you conclude you're not 'fine' at all. "I think…" He notices the slight tremor in your voice, and rubs your back sympathetically. He's been friends with your brother since the two of them were about four years old, so, basically, he knows you as well as your mother.

"He's gonna be OK. They're going to be OK." You look straight into his green eyes and try to believe every word he is saying. You almost succeed. "I spoke to the doctors, and they say there's a great chance they'll make it. They'll have to go through a lot of physical therapy, but that's better than…' His voice fades away. Jack is his brother as well, and he can't pretend everything's going to be alright, because he's not sure of it.

"How's he doing?" You point at the little child asleep in the chair, his soft fair hair almost covering half of his freckled face.

"Quite well. I don't think he really understands what's going on. Or maybe he does, and he's just being patient and wiser than everyone else. He's been staying with me and Jane for the last two days, but we have to travel back to London tomorrow. We'll be back in a week."

"Would you mind taking care of him for two hours while I arrange my house? I want to receive him properly." You don't even have a suitable bed, not to mention food, for a 2 year old, and you don't know how long he's going to be staying with you. "Jane and you can come over for lunch."

"Sounds perfect. " He hands you a little piece of paper were he has written down his phone number. "Call me when you are ready"

You say your goodbyes, and you begin to make your way through the hall. You are about to exit the building when, suddenly, you and an incredibly tall man, whose scent reminds you of someone, collide. You would have fallen to the ground, had he not grabbed your hand tightly.

"Thank y…" You raise your eyes, but stop talking when you realise who's your mystery saviour. Damn, you shouldn't have trusted Wilson.

"HOUSE! What the hell are you doing here?"

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"I was just passing by and decide I should inspect the hospital. I think one of my minions is cheating on Princeton Plainsboro and giving away my theories to these idiots." He stared at her with an innocent face. You notice his hand is still holding yours, and you pull away quickly, blushing furiously.

"And you expect me to believe that?" You chuckle, forgetting for an instant your currently altered mental state.

It had taken you years to admit it, but House is actually one of the few people you know that can make you laugh genuinely. Of course, he also makes your life miserable every day, but you can't help being kindred spirits.

"No. I know you are not a _complete_ idiot." He pauses for a moment, and then gazes at you. "How's Jack?"

"Do you care?" You inquire, almost in disbelief. Jack and House met almost twenty years ago, and they hated each other with a passion.

"No, I just wanted to know. A comatose brother equals a distressed Dean, which equals… mistakes that could cost the lives of my patients" He is lying, and you know it. He came all the way here because, deep inside, he actually cares for you, or because he wants to spread his bitterness around and make you even more miserable.

You decide you don't want to find out which of the options is the correct one, and, pushing past him, you walk towards your car. The air is cold and little snowflakes are falling from the gray sky.

The familiar sound of his cane hitting the floor follows you, and you turn around abruptly.

"What do you want?" You ask almost rudely. "I have to buy stuff for a 2-year-old kid and cook lunch for three. Would you mind leaving me alone?"

"In case you haven't noticed, I can't ride my bike with the snow and my leg, unless I want to commit suicide." He spoke slowly, as though addressing to a little child.

"Get in the damn car." is your elegant reply to his condescending words.

Luckily, he did as he was told, and after adjusting your seatbelt, you begin to drive on the road to his apartment.

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So, what do you think?


	4. Help me

So, I got tired of the narrative style I've chosen for the previous chapters. I had to repeat 'You' at least a thousand times per chapter (and the chapters were really short 'til now). So, past tense! YAY!

And thanks for the reviews. I'll try to make the chapters a little longer, but please, take into consideration my amateurism. This one is a bit longer, and I think it turned out to be pretty decent. Tell me what you think, and thanks for your reviews.

**Chapter IV**

"Come on Cuddy, don't overreact! I just wanted to check how you were doing!" He really meant it, though the sarcastic tone he employed was intended to hide it.

She was visibly upset, her shaking hands gripping the wheel with perceptible unsteadiness. Her eyes were fixed on the road, and he could tell she was trying to stay focused. The snow had intensified over the last minutes, and the streets were glowing with its shimmering white light.

"I just don't understand what's wrong with you!" She was nearly shouting, her distress evident. "You make my life insufferable everyday, you ignore my orders, you ruin my almost non-existent dates…" Cuddy paused for a moment, breathless "And then you show up at the hospital, invading my personal life, saying you want to check on me?!"

He wasn't staring at her. Yes, fellows, even Gregory House, the snarky, uncaring doctor, could feel guilty sometimes. Truth be told, he hadn't meant to trouble her. In fact, showing up like that was his totally messed-up way to express affection. He was truly grateful towards her (though it would have taken indecent amounts of alcohol for him to admit it): she had taken care of him over the aftermath of the crash, and helped him rebuild his relationship with Wilson. She had saved him from going to jail. She had risked her job uncountable times, just for him. After the infarction, she was always there when he needed someone.

And yet he treated her horribly everyday. Maybe the crash and the deep brain stimulation had really affected his brain-probably his limbic system-but he felt utterly sorry.

"If you want to help me" she continued "Help me. If you don't, the walk away and stop annoying me. I'm not in the mood."

He remained silent, and she assumed he didn't want to help at all. His disregard irritated her a bit. She had been there for him. For once, he could swallow his stupid pride and do something for her.

"Cuddy…" He was whispering. A red light gave her the chance to pay full attention to his mumbled words. "I…want to help you."

Green light.

Cuddy stared at the road in disbelief. Had House just said he wanted to help her? She told herself she must have dreamed it. Maybe she was hallucinating.

Or maybe he did care.

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"Cuddy" House spoke up "An answer would be great, you know."

She had now parked in front of his apartment, and was beginning to react to external stimulus.

He placed his hand, his long musician fingers, on her shoulder and squeezed it softly, and the shiver that ran down her spine awaked her at last.

"Do you mean it? Or you are just trying to get into my pants?" It wasn't like she would have rejected him, anyway… She slapped herself mentally.

His thin lips curved in a little smirk. His signature smirk.

"What kind of question is that?" He chuckled, and she smiled at him fondly "Oh, how can I resist you if you look at me like that?"

"Now get off my car. I have shopping to do. Or you new helping plan includes following me around like a lapdog?"

"Only if I can avoid clinic duty."

"That's so not going to happen. You still owe more than 4 years."

"But, mommy…"

He stepped out of the car hastily, almost slipping in the snow. He was only wearing a shirt, and he was shivering.

Slowly, he made his way towards his apartment, and after opening the door, he went straight for a hot bath.

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Cuddy walked around the shopping mall, still confused about what had happened with House.

Did he really want to help her?

Having House by her side, she felt much more secure, as if a huge weight had been taken off her shoulders. It was stupid, and she knew it: he'll probably screw everything up, or behave like the jerk he was. A normal person would have called her crazy for relying so much on someone like House, whose temperament was completely unpredictable, and worse, unkind. Plus, he was practically unable to comfort people.

But she trusted him like she had never trust in any other person in the whole wide world, besides, perhaps, his brother. But they had grown apart, and she wasn't sure he knew all her faults and virtues as well as House did.

Because of one thing she was absolutely sure: nobody knew her as well as House.

He might have been a jerk, but he had kept the secret of her injections, he had opened her eyes when it came to donors and babies, he had risked his life to save his best friend's girlfriend. He failed, but he did his best to succeed.

And she liked him. She had meant to tell him, but words had failed her when the expected moment arrived. But he had probably deduced it, with his incredible ability to read her mind, as though she was transparent.

She focused her thoughts on her nephew, that tiny child she loved so much. There was plenty of time to sort out the whole House-being-practically-nice-situation.

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End file.
